


Arson & Old Lace

by yeojasamho



Series: Vigilantes Solos [3]
Category: EXO (Band), NCT (Band), SuperM (Korea Band), The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Mutants, Crime Fighting, F/M, Gen, Mystery, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2020-12-09 18:17:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20999222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeojasamho/pseuds/yeojasamho
Summary: Chanyeol embarks on an investigation about a series of fires, leading him to ask more questions than answers.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by "A Series of Unfortunate Events"  
Basic plot is mine along with some of the characters.

Between waiting tables and helping out in the family business and his side job as a private investigator for Bermuda Investigations, Park Chanyeol was handling his double life fairly well. It had been a year since the happening at Summerland, a year since Mirae’s ordeal with the Sharks gang, since Hyuk’s encounter with the demonic Ose cult, a year since those things have happened. He preferred to think that all was well, even if he knew that it had never been well, and that there was always something in the dark, waiting to spring out. 

He was done for the day at Viva Polo, his mother’s Italian restaurant. His colleague in both the restaurant and in Bermuda Investigations, Lee Juyeon, had already gotten off for the day as well, and was probably back at his apartment that he shared with two other colleagues of theirs; Ji Changmin and Kim Younghoon. He was looking forward to going back to his place and calling his girlfriend, a librarian named Park Sungyoung, over for dinner and some tv, maybe even more if either of them were up to it. 

Since those events, he finally made the decision to move to his own place. It was still accessible to Viva Polo, a few bus stops away from Jaehwan’s home and several train stops away from Hyuk’s place and even farther from Mirae’s apartment, which was ironically a few streets away from the restaurant and live cafe his father owned next door. Hyuk’s entertainment agency, TRBL Music was also close by, just a street away. Chanyeol felt comforted that all of his friends lived in a close proximity, but he also felt a little bad for moving to a place a little far from where the four of them, now seven and as of late, eight again, got together. 

Getting in his car, Chanyeol drove to the building that had the music store Mirae owned and the offices of Bermuda Investigations behind it, accessible through the back door of the store. He thought he’d stop by to see if a new case turned up. Opening the door, he was expecting the office to be empty, but he was pleasantly surprised to see most of them there. Changmin, Juyeon, Younghoon, Mirae, Jaehwan, and Lee Jaehyun, another Summerland colleague of theirs who decided to leave and join the agency as a private investigator instead. All of them were seated behind their desks, save for Jaehyun, who was sitting on the couch, playing a game with his phone. 

“Hey guys” He greeted them, making a beeline for his own desk and sitting down. 

“Long day too, huh?” Jaehwan glanced at him. 

“Yeah, Juyeon and I had a very long day. I had to throw out a few drunk uncles earlier” Chanyeol replied, sitting back on his chair with a sigh. “What about you guys?” 

“I thought I’d work at TRBL Music again,” Jaehwan said. “But Hyuk hyung is busy attending to Silver’s promotions.” 

“Yeah,” Mirae suddenly spoke. “Silver’s fansigns are now going to be dependent on our store too, that guy, really.” 

“That’s good for business, isn’t it?” Chanyeol looked amused at the thought. 

“Yeah, I guess. This is taking up our time for now” She shrugged. 

“You were hoping to get a case too, huh, hyung?” Younghoon asked, draping an arm around his girlfriend’s shoulder and leaning on her a little. 

The fire-bender nodded. It wasn’t an unusual thing for business to be slow at the agency. They had the option to close it down anyway if they wanted, not owing anyone else aside from themselves a single cent. “Do you think we should put our agency out there more?” He suddenly asked them. 

“But we’d end up exposing ourselves as mutants” Changmin said. 

“Not that part, but at least the agency” Chanyeol pointed out. “Promote the agency, we’re legal anyway, we just need to get more people coming to us for help” He explained. 

“We’d have trouble juggling our other jobs, Yeol” Mirae said. “Even Jaehwan went back to TRBL Music, because we knew it would be slow here” She explained. “And the cases we take on? It’s not the usual finding missing people or finding those other things.” 

Chanyeol knew she was right. Even Jaehwan suffered when he went on his own case, and Hyuk nearly went insane in the end of his. He looked through their newly restored file cabinet that so far only contained three files. One for the cases the three of them did, along with the details. He hoped he’d be able to take on something. 

After a few hours, Chanyeol bid the rest of them goodbye and drove home. He got a text from Sungyoung, telling him that she was already preparing a meal for him in case he got hungry, and he was. The instant noodles in the breakroom weren’t enough. He parked his car when he finally arrived and went straight up to his place. Opening the door and taking off his shoes, he immediately smelled something frying. “I’m back!” He called out, padding his way in the apartment. 

Sungyoung was sitting at the dining table, a steaming bowl of stir fried rice, cheesy sausages, and a small side of kimchi was laid out. “Look who’s home, my tall hero” She said, getting up to greet him with a kiss. “How was your day?” She asked. 

“The usual. Threw out drunk uncles, nearly made a mess, finding out that my parents are now experiencing an empty nest feeling,” Chanyeol smiled, wrapping his arms around her. “How was yours?” 

“The usual, shushing noisy kids, talking to old people or people who still love to read books,” She said quietly. “They’re the only ones keeping the library open nowadays because everything’s gone digital.” 

Chanyeol rested his forehead on hers. “And it’ll stay open. There are still people who prefer real books” He assured her. 

“Like you?” 

“Like me” He said. 

Sungyoung pulled away and seated him across from her. “Go eat, you need to unwind” She sat back down and watched him. “How are your friends?” She asked while he tucked into his meal. 

“They’re okay, getting busier with their day jobs” Chanyeol explained in between bites. “TRBL Music’s become more popular because the debuts of both groups are so successful, they’ve hooked Mirae’s store into being the place for fansigns from now on, Jaehwan went back to TRBL Music too, Jaehyun helping them out in the store as well…” He shrugged. 

She looked at him with slight concern. “What about Bermuda Investigations?” She asked. 

“Slow business, but nothing surprising about that” 

“Frankly, I’m relieved” Sungyoung muttered. “Mirae nearly died, Hyuk nearly went insane, Jaehwan...my heart still breaks for what he had to go through. I’m just glad you haven’t tackled a case.” 

Chanyeol paused and put his chopsticks down. “Sungyoung, I’m fine. If ever I take on a case, know that I’ll be fine” He said. 

“I know, I know,” Sungyoung was beginning to look even more concerned. “I just wonder how your powers are letting you live an actual life, you know? This whole...superhero stuff… this vigilante stuff… how is it letting you live a-” 

“A what? A normal life?” Chanyeol asked, but got no reply. “You do notice that it’s been a year since their cases, right? A whole year? When you met me, it was before things like that happened more…Things are not and haven’t been your definition of normal ever since the Seoul attack, and especially with me” He explained, almost pained to have to say it. He reached over to take her hand. “Danger is an occupational hazard in Bermuda Investigations, but know that I’ll be fine, I always have been, and I know I always will be, as long as you’re there, as long as everyone I love is there for me, I will be fine.” 

He knew she meant well. Sungyoung had always been worrying ever since he told her what he was and what he was doing. “But how? Are you really okay with this? Putting your life on the line all the time for other people who won’t even thank you when they see you?” She asked. 

“They do, we just don’t come forward to say “you’re welcome” to them” Chanyeol pointed out. “People still think mutants aren’t real, or outcasts, and we are outcasts to them. They don’t care who saves them, they just want to live out there. So do we. All we want is to live quietly.” 

“You save people, you save a lot of people,” Sungyoung said. “But who is going to save you if or when you’re the ones in danger?” 

That question had crossed his mind over time, and during that time, Chanyeol had difficulty answering it. But as time had gone on, and especially after what happened in Summerland the previous year, he had the answer. “We save ourselves. Ino hyung most especially. He’s always there for us whenever we need him, and he’s the most powerful mutant among us, maybe even in the world” He explained. “You’ve just yet to meet the rest of the guys, even the ones I worked with before Summerland.” 

Sungyoung squeezed his hand. “I just don’t want to lose you to bad guys. I’m sorry if I’ve been worrying so much, but it sometimes feels like I’m sending you off to war, and it’s a war that doesn’t seem to end.” 

Chanyeol nodded, having understood what she meant. “It does end, and it always ends, it’s why there haven’t been any cases in a year, why no one’s come to us for help, why it takes a while before we actually start doing something, you know” He explained softly. He partly wondered when he would be able to do something himself, when his turn would be. “Sungyoung, I like this job of mine, I’m not doing this just because I have to and because I’m one of the only people who can, but I also do this because I just want to help people. Please accept that, okay?” 

She nodded and leaned forward to kiss him. “I guess this is what Pepper Potts would feel whenever Iron Man has to go save the world” She whispered. 

“I guess so” Chanyeol nodded. 

~ 

The next day, Chanyeol decided to take a day off from the restaurant to spend it at the agency. He squeezed through the crowds and lines that were growing bigger and longer in size in front of the store. It was the first fansign for Silver’s comeback, and he looked over for a glimpse of Younghoon, Changmin, Jaehyun, and Mirae, but he eventually gave up, knowing that they were busy preparing everything that was needed. 

_ Any moment, Hyuk might be arriving with the boys _ , he thought, as he opened the door of the agency and stepped inside. As he expected it was quiet and no one else was around. He sat down behind his desk and noticed a box of unopened files that were intact from the fire that the Ose cult members started in order to destroy the evidence Hyuk had. He got up and took the box, opening it. 

It was mostly made up of police cases, some of which had gone cold. Chanyeol scanned through each one and put them into the file cabinet. He saw the last folder, slightly thicker than the rest. Upon opening it, he saw pictures of burned down houses in different places, each of them attached on a piece of paper and some newspaper clippings of the articles about those fires. There were also what looked like reports of instances of a theater production accident, a circus accident, a murder at a seaside hotel and at a house that was supposedly more like an animal sanctuary. It was all so intriguing, and Chanyeol closed the file cabinet, bringing this particular folder along with him to his desk. 

He looked up for a moment upon hearing loud screams and cheers coming from the fans outside. Chanyeol figured that Silver probably just arrived and were taking their places on wherever they were supposed to sit. He looked back at the papers in the file, and came across a picture of a white lace pouch. A small envelope fell out from the piles of papers, catching his attention. The fire-bender bent down to pick it up, and turned it around, seeing the words  _ “To Whoever Finds This Folder, Please Read.” _

Opening the envelope, there was one white index card with a lengthy message typed out with a typewriter. “Haven’t read typewritten things in a while” He mumbled, looking at the message. 

_ To Whoever Finds This Folder,  _

_ If this folder happens to have come across your path for one reason or another, then it means I have been compromised. The details of my situation are of very little importance, but if you ever find or receive this folder full of information for the questions that you might have in mind, then I have no choice but to trust in you to carry out the rest of my plan.  _

_ In this folder, you will see pictures upon pictures of people, all of which you don’t know but will know about eventually as you look into this mystery more and more. They are friends, and enemies of mine. Most of my friends as you will find out, have unfortunately perished, while my enemies are most likely hiding somewhere. My friends and I are under an organization that you will find out in due course, the more you go along with your investigation.  _

Chanyeol looked at the thick wad of pictures that were attached to some papers. He noticed some were living at a house by the sea, some were living in an underwater lair, some were living at a secret room in what looked like a seaside hotel, and some looked like they were living in an animal sanctuary. He figured that the person who had friends like the people in the pictures lived a very exciting life, more exciting than his own, and he’s seen, heard, and done a lot. 

_ If I am putting my trust in you, then I should tell you to follow the path I laid out. The fires start from this mansion up in the mountains. You will end up traveling all over the country for this, and I can hope that you are able to do so. You might be wondering why you have to do this, why you think you should be compelled to do it. The fires are all intentional, and the police are unable, both intellectually and physically, do the finding. You have to do it, as you will probably be able to do what they can’t without everyone making a fuss.  _

_ Work silently, and fight the fire.  _

Chanyeol finished reading, turning the card over to see who had written it. There was none. It was ironic how the case in front of him involved fighting fires when his own powers brought him to start fires. Still, it was an interesting case, and he saw the newspaper clippings and printouts of other online articles surrounding the fires. The door leading to the store opened and in came Jaehyun, holding a bottle of water and looking a little frazzled, even while he was wearing his red-tinted sunglasses. “Oh, hi, hyung” He said, seating himself down on the couch. 

“Hey” The older boy replied, reading the clippings and the printouts. “A lot of people out there?” 

“A lot! Some nearly grabbed the chairs from me!” Jaehyun replied, in disbelief while he took a long drink of water. “Younghoon and Changmin managed to get everyone to sit down, so everything’s fine now” He added. He suddenly sat up, noticing what he was doing. “Did you find yourself a case?” He asked. 

He had pondered on whether or not he needed help, or if he could do this alone. “I think I just did, but I don’t know who’s giving me this case, I just found it in the box” He explained, not even looking at the younger boy as he said it. 

“I can help you! I don’t know how, but I’ll do it! Everyone’s been on a case anyway, and I haven’t,” Jaehyun said with a renewed enthusiasm. Chanyeol could tell he lit up. “We can get Sunwoo and Eric to help you too, hyung” He added. 

That seemed to help Chanyeol make up his mind. The case he was about to take on involved a lot of traveling, and the younger boy did have a point in them getting help from the other boys at Summerland.  _ Maybe Junhong can lend them the jet, _ he thought. “Alright then, we’re going to Summerland, get the two and go back to my apartment so we can figure this out” He closed the folder and held it up, Jaehyun cheering excitedly as he followed the older boy out of the offices. 

~ 

It was when he found himself driving down the road that led to Summerland that Chanyeol realized how many times he’d come. The most times he had to go there was last year. But even if those times were a year apart, things still felt familiar. “I thought you didn’t need to wear sunglasses anymore, Jae” He glanced at the younger boy, who was quietly looking out the window. 

“Hmm?” Jaehyun sat up upon being spoken to. “Ah, yeah. I’m still a little paranoid, to be honest. Whenever I wake up, I always have this urge to keep my eyes closed. It’s almost like I have to live like a blind person.” 

“Try not to depend on your sunglasses too much,” Chanyeol advised him. “You’ve been able to control your powers, you can do that again, just trust yourself.” 

That seemed to make Jaehyun feel a little better. “I’ll try.” 

“Oh, and you probably should get ready because this case is one big road trip” Chanyeol said. The younger boy seemed to light up even more. “Who knows how long we’ll be away, a month at the most, or maybe two months or more.” 

“Sounds like a very big case then” Jaehyun said. He hadn’t looked into the file just yet, but as long as he got to come help solve a case for the agency, then he was optimistic that he could lend a hand. He reached over at the backseat for the folder, seeing a bit of the note peek through while Chanyeol pulled up in front of the building. 

The two of them got out, and the front doors opened in time. The blue face of Kevin peeked out, followed by Ino, who looked pleased. “We saw you two come! How are things in the city? It’s been a while” Kevin beamed at the sight of them. “Jacob spotted your car a mile away” he added, stepping aside to let them in. 

“Kevin, why don’t you get Sunwoo and Eric,” Ino instructed the younger boy, who nodded and dashed off. He looked back at Chanyeol and Jaehyun with a sheepish expression. “Forgive me for suddenly reading your thoughts, I felt Jaehyun’s excitement knowing that you’d be taking on a big case” He explained. 

Chanyeol looked taken aback, and shrugged it off. He had somehow gotten used to telepaths already from being around Hyuk a lot. “So, how are things over here, hyung? How are you doing as the unofficial spokesperson for our very small community?” He asked while they walked towards the lounge. 

“As you mentioned, our community is still very small, talks are still vague, but I am determined to convince them that we are real, actually I’ve had to do that myself over the past few months, it’s not as… nice as it seems” Ino revealed, the three of them sitting down on the couches. 

“What about the others? How are they holding up? Sangyeon been getting nightmares again?” Chanyeol asked. 

Ino shook his head. “We got rid of the Shadow Man once and for all, didn’t we? He’s back to normal, although he’s a little scared, but we’re all doing what we can to help him and it’s working,” He smiled. “But, I have been going through some changes, and I don’t think it’s very favorable for me either” He said. 

“What kind of changes?” Jaehyun asked curiously. 

“Changes in my powers. I thought what I’ve discovered over the years was it, but it turns out, it isn’t” Ino said quietly. “Ah, if only I wasn’t a late bloomer, then I’d be able to control it better… but so far I can’t.” 

“That part of our lives will always remain a mystery” Chanyeol said wisely. 

“So it seems. I realized that I haven’t been eating or drinking anything for the past week…” Ino said. “Yet I feel fine, I even had Junhong and Kevin check me out and so far, everything’s working,” He explained. “I also accidentally went through a wall… like what Sunwoo does, and one time I kind of disintegrated my shoe cabinet. I thought it was Sangyeon but he said it wasn’t him… and I realized that it was me.” 

Jaehyun gaped at the elder. “Hyung, you’re practically like a god, at this rate, you are the most powerful mutant in the world, maybe in the universe!” He said. 

“That’s what worries me” Ino frowned, the coffee table suddenly turning into dust. “Oh! Sorry” He said, getting flustered while he managed to put the table back to its original form. Chanyeol and Jaehyun saw all the dust particles come together as it happened. 

A boy suddenly appeared from the hall, making Chanyeol and Jaehyun stare at him. “Who are you?” The fire-bender asked. 

“He’s Jeno, my cousin!” Eric suddenly appeared, and with him was Sunwoo, whose back was turned and was trying not to gag or vomit from the speed of which Eric pulled him. Kevin came running behind, a little out of breath. “Jeno, meet Chanyeol hyung, and Jaehyun hyung. Jaehyun hyung used to live here and Chanyeol hyung only comes a few times a year, he’s a friend of Ino hyung’s and a lot of our mentors” Eric explained, talking just as fast. 

“You’re a mutant too, aren’t you?” Chanyeol said, and Jeno nodded. “Well, it’s nice to have you here” He smiled. Jaehyun looked impressed. 

“Ino-Ino hyung said you wanted to see us?” Sunwoo swallowed hard before turning around to face them. “Please never pull me again” He said to the speedster. 

“Yes I did, and Jaehyun here told me you two would be up for the challenge,” Chanyeol nodded. Jaehyun looked excited. He held up the folder. “A big case for Bermuda Investigations, you two should come with us, track down some fires that have been happening over the past few months, years even.” 

“That sounds amazing” Ino said. “You two should go, it’s your turn to get out and do something for the agency as Jaehyun’s already helping out” He added. 

“Count us in!” Eric cheered. “Can Jeno come along? He’s the newest one here, he might as well get a chance in helping” He glanced at his cousin, who suddenly looked embarrassed. 

“What do you say, Jeno? Want to go with them? Something tells me your mutant powers will be able to help a lot” Ino glanced at the younger. 

The speedster kept pulling on his cousin’s arm. “Jeno Jeno Jeno Jeno, let’s go on an adventure!” He said. 

“If my powers can be useful, why not? I’m in” Jeno said and Eric cheered. Ino and Kevin looked pleased. 

“Because you’re on a case hyung,” Kevin suddenly spoke. “You should take the van.” 

“Van?” Chanyeol looked puzzled. “What van?” 

“The van we used when we did the case with the cult” Kevin smiled. “It’s a Bermuda Investigations van, and it’s got what you need, or almost everything you need, only now, Junhong hyung and I did some more modifications to the design, we made it a little bigger!” He seemed proud. “Hyungdeul, Eric, Sunwoo, Jeno, follow me.” 

~ 

Kevin led them down to the garage and turned on the lights, pulling down the sheet to reveal the van that they were to be taking. “I present to you, the Bermuda Investigations RV!” He said. “Perfect for cases that take more than a day and involve a lot of traveling” He beamed.

“So this is why you’ve been watching those old Pimp My Ride videos on the internet” Eric pointed out. 

“It’s got everything all the cars in Summerland have, and more,” Kevin said. “Full metal jacket-proof glass windows, the body made out of indestructible material, or the ones used for shark tanks, tire fillers, ejecting seats, the works. But with a few bunk beds, a burner phone, a small computer system because we can only fit in so much, and a mini-fridge. Thanks to Hyunjoon, it can run for a long time” He said. 

“What about the bathroom?” Eric asked. “Any cleaning materials too?” 

“There’s a bidet, and a shower” Kevin nodded, and all of them, including Ino, looked amazed. “Junmyeon hyung provided the first aid kits too. He dropped by not too long ago to give us those.” 

“So it really does have everything we need, almost like you guys knew where we’re going” Chanyeol pointed out, glancing at Ino. 

“Hey, Chanyeol, I did not know the case you have right now would have you going around the country, maybe even past it” Ino said, his hands up in defense. 

Jeno raised a hand. “What if the fuel runs out on this RV? Would there be gas stations where we’re going?” He asked. 

Kevin smiled, as if anticipating the question. “In the event that you lack fuel,” He began, gesturing them to go inside, opening the doors and following the rest, including Ino. “There’s a special compartment in the middle,” He pulled down a panel on the wall connecting the rest of the vehicle to the driver’s seat. Inside there were capsules that were filled with blue fuel. “The newest innovation in gasoline. One capsule is equal to a full tank” He beamed. 

“Have you ever thought of putting that out in the market? You could make a fortune with that” Chanyeol pointed out, amazed at what the younger boy invented. 

“Someday, but this still needs a few more tests” Kevin smiled. “I didn’t design that for money, hyung.” 

“It’s best that we keep that to ourselves for now,” Ino advised. “If this gets out to the market at the moment, people outside the country will want to get their hands on this too. If they find out that it was a mutant who made it,” He sighed. “Bad things can happen. There will be greed, there will be people hungry for power and money, people will get hurt. There’s a lot of bad things happening everywhere lately, the last thing we want is to make it worse.” 

They nodded, having understood. Chanyeol knew it most of all and figured that Ino had already foreseen the possibility of more trouble starting that only people like them could stop. But even then, it was still dangerous for everyone, mutant or not. “In this case, the rest of you can pack for a trip now” He said to Sunwoo, Eric, and Jeno. 

“Don’t pull me along, I’ll catch up” Sunwoo told the speedster again, who laughed and instead pulled his cousin, darting back inside the building. “I’d rather not feel like vomiting every time he does it” He glanced at the older boys and at Ino, who chuckled. 

“So, Eric’s cousin is a mutant,” Jaehyun said. “What does he do?” 

Kevin raised a hand. “Jeno comes from the lupine mutant subspecies,” He explained, nodding as he saw the confused expressions of Chanyeol and Jaehyun. “I’ve been reading through Junhong hyung’s findings and research from all the way back during the Center of Paranormal Research days. Jeno’s power is being able to transform into a cat, all the while maintaining his human characteristics and intelligence. He can also change his appearance into a humanoid cat” He finished. 

“Wow” Chanyeol looked impressed. “What would make the rest of us then?” He asked. 

“I’m glad you asked” Kevin smiled. “It seems like I am a cross between the lupine mutant subspecies and the changeling mutant subspecies. Those who are under the changeling mutant subspecies means their powers have manifested at birth. Like me, Chanhee is also a changeling.” 

“Wouldn’t that mean Jacob is too? His wings grew in when he was a kid” Ino asked. 

“Yes and no. Jacob’s mutant abilities put him more under the Cheyarafim subspecies. Cheyarafims are angel-like mutants and are natural enemies of demonic-looking ones, referred to as Neyaphems,” Kevin said. “Majority of the rest of you, as I’ve theorized, fall under the homo superior superior subspecies. Naturally more evolved than majority of the human population on earth.” 

“Majority of the rest of us? You mean there’s more of these… subspecies?” Chanyeol asked. Jaehyun remained puzzled. 

Kevin nodded. “Yes, subspecies in terms of mutant abilities, there are three. Alpha, beta, and omega-level mutants.” 

“I think the two of you need to sit down for this,” Ino suggested to them. “This might prove useful in your investigation. You never really know who you might deal with.” 

“I have a vague idea, hyung” Chanyeol said, and they sat down on the booth seats of the dining area. 

Kevin looked excited. “Sharing knowledge is a wonderful feeling” He said. “As I’ve said earlier, aside from the classes of mutants by physical attributes, there are also classes of mutants by their abilities, and there are three. Alpha level mutants, beta level mutants, and the most powerful of them all, the omega level mutants,” He began. 

“Omega-level mutants are the most powerful, their power limits cannot be surpassed by any other, which also makes them the most dangerous mutants of them all. From Junhong hyung’s understanding, only the dominant power is considered to be of omega-level,” Kevin suddenly gestured to Ino. “Ino hyung, is a prime example of an omega-level mutant.” 

Ino looked flustered. “Thanks for the classification” He muttered. 

“Sangyeon hyung is also an omega-level mutant, Jongdae hyung is an omega-level mutant, Hyuk hyung is an omega-level telekinetic, Mirae noona is also surprisingly an omega-level mutant, Changmin, is also an omega-level mutant” Kevin nodded, seemingly proud at the last part. 

“Changmin too?” Jaehyun looked surprised. 

“No one can manipulate magnetic fields the way Changmin can, which makes him an omega-level mutant” Kevin said knowingly. 

“What about us?” Jaehyun gestured to himself and Chanyeol. 

“Which leads me to the next class, Alpha level mutants. I don’t think Junhong hyung was able to properly give a definite definition of what this level is. But, in a nutshell, alpha-level mutants are also quite powerful, but their powers are not as strong as the omega-level mutants” Kevin explained. “Jaehyun hyung is an alpha-level mutant, Sehun hyung and Junmyeon hyung are also alpha-level mutants, Jinri noona is an alpha-level as are you, hyung,” He gestured to the fire-bender. “Younghoon hyung is also an alpha-level mutant, Juyeon is also an alpha-level mutant, as is Chanhee, and Hyunjoon” He stated. 

“What about Sunwoo and Eric? And Jeno?” Ino asked curiously. “Are they alpha-level too?” 

“Sunwoo is, Eric I’m not so sure, same goes for Jacob hyung, Haknyeon, and myself” Kevin shrugged. “I’ve yet to figure it out. Like I said earlier, Junhong hyung hasn’t written down a precise definition as to what alpha-level mutants are.” 

“Okay, at least this is a start. What about the beta-level mutants?” Jaehyun said. 

“Beta-level mutants, although they’re quite powerful, their powers can easily be surpassed by other mutants,” Kevin explained. “Jaehwan hyung is an example of a beta-level mutant. Hyejung noona is a beta-level mutant too.” 

Jaehyun sighed and closed his eyes. “All this talk about alpha, beta, omega level mutant stuff is too much information in a matter of ten minutes.” 

Kevin chuckled, as did Ino. Chanyeol nodded in understanding, looking down at the folder he was holding. “Is it possible for alpha and beta level mutants to reach omega or alpha status?” He asked this time, making Jaehyun sigh and close his eyes again. 

“Of course. Younghoon hyung, for example, his power can border on omega-level” The younger boy said. “But I wouldn’t think too much of it, all of us are powerful in our own way. Think of this as like blood types” He was quick to point out. “We’re all different in blood types, but all of us can still do things no ordinary person can.” 

Ino smiled. “Good thing you only mentioned this to the three of us, I don’t want any segregation happening inside Summerland.” 

“At least knowing we can strengthen our powers is enough” Chanyeol pointed out. 

“Exactly” Kevin beamed. 

“We’re here!” Eric and Jeno suddenly appeared, both of them carrying backpacks. Jeno pulled away, turning his back as the nausea came in. “Let’s go let’s go let’s go!” The speedster cheered. 

The car keys appeared out of thin air and into Ino’s hands. “Here you go” He handed them to Chanyeol, who then felt his pockets for his own keys. Another set of keys seemed to put itself together out of thin air in front of them, landing in Ino’s other hand. “I’ll leave your car to the capable hands of Junhong and Kevin” He said, handing the blue boy the set. 

“Can’t you come with us?” Jeno asked Ino. 

“I’d love to, but I am needed more in here” Ino replied. “Good luck on your journey, keep Kevin’s information in mind.” 

“We will” Chanyeol said, glancing at the three younger boys, and seeing Sunwoo arrive a few feet away, carrying a backpack as well. “What about you, Kev? Want to join us?” He asked. 

“Like Ino hyung said, I’d love to, but I have to stay behind this time” Kevin said. 

“Shotgun!” Eric shouted, boarding the RV and seating himself down on the passenger’s seat. Kevin and Ino bid them goodbye and opened the garage doors. Chanyeol had never felt so prepared before, and it was a nice change compared to how things usually went with him. As he seated himself in the driver’s seat and put the key in the ignition, he waited for Sunwoo, Jeno, and Jaehyun to fasten their seatbelts on the other seats behind them, including the seat across from what was the stove. 

“Where are we headed to first?” Sunwoo asked. 

“Jaehyun has to pack too, so we’re stopping by their building first, then we’ll all stay over at my place so we can figure out what we’re dealing with and where we’re going first” Chanyeol told them as he started driving out of the garage and away from the place. 

~ 

That afternoon, Chanyeol parked the car in front of the building. He noticed the store was still open, and the lights from the Bermuda Investigations office was still on. “I live across the hall from Mirae noona” Jaehyun said. 

“Oh, so Younghoon hyung lives here too?” Eric sat up, looking out the window. 

“Yeah. But I have my place all to myself” Jaehyun replied, unbuckling his seatbelt. “You guys want to see where I live?” He asked them. 

“Yeah!” The younger boys, including Chanyeol unbuckled their seatbelts as well and got down the RV. The building had since been renovated, with the elevator replaced as well as the addition of a staircase that went up the first three floors. 

Chanyeol realized that he hadn’t been to their place as much as he thought. At the most, he had only been there six times in the past four, five years. That was how long it was since the Seoul attack, since the Bermuda mission, since the Utopian cult, the Sharks gang, the Ose cult, the Kang family mob, and then the Shadow Man. He realized that not only have they come a very long way since first meeting at what was once the Center for Paranormal Research years ago, but that he was never really as close with them as he thought, at least to the extent that they’ve come over each other’s houses. They really only usually met at the restaurant and at the offices and that was that. They got off the elevator and looked at the quiet hallway that only had four doors, three of which were close together and one was at the very end of the hall, close to the fire escape. 

One of the doors opened and Jihoon came out, carrying a garbage bag. He stepped back in surprise upon seeing them. “Hello!” He said cheerily, waving at them with his free hand. 

“Hi Jihoon, where’s Mirae noona?” Chanyeol asked. 

“She went to see a movie with Younghoon hyung, they’ll be back later. What made you ask?” Jihoon said curiously. 

“Nothing, just curious” Chanyeol said. “If ever anyone looks for us, we’re off on a case. This is Jeno by the way, Lee Jeno, Eric’s cousin” He gestured to the other blonde boy, who bowed slightly. 

“Hi! I’m Park Jihoon, Mirae’s brother” He introduced himself as well. “I’ll tell them in case they get curious. Juyeon hyung and Changmin hyung are in their apartment though, you should go say hi to them” He advised. “I’ll drop these down at the chute now, I’ll see you guys around” He said before walking off. 

The door next to where Jihoon came from opened, and out popped the faces of Juyeon and Changmin. “I guess we heard correctly” The metal-bender said, beaming at the sight of them, before stepping out with Juyeon as well, all of them exchanging hugs and pleasantries while Eric introduced the two of them to his cousin, who seemed to still be flustered by the sudden introductions. 

“So, you’re a mutant too? What can you do?” Changmin asked the younger. 

Jeno transformed into a black cat with a white head. He hopped up on Eric’s back, walking on his shoulders before jumping back down, turning back to normal mid-jump. Changmin and Juyeon looked amazed. “Wow” they said. 

“What can you two do?” Jeno asked quietly. 

Changmin took out a coin from his pocket and it began to dart in between his fingers. He lowered his hand, and the coin began to spin in a circle. He noticed Eric’s watch and it slid off his wrist. “Metal is my specialty” He said. Jeno looked at the spinning objects in awe. 

Juyeon raised his forearm, and it turned into metal, until he was fully transformed. “I’m bulletproof in this form” He said, transforming back into his normal appearance. “So you live nearby?” He asked the other blonde. 

“I live in Summerland now” Jeno said. “I just quit my job at this cat cafe so I’m there full time” He added. 

“While we’re all talking out here, I’ll go ahead and pack” Jaehyun patted each of them on the shoulder and went inside his apartment. Chanyeol leaned against the wall, pleased as he watched their little reunion. Jihoon returned and waved at them before heading back into his place. He heard his phone ping and saw a message from Sungyoung. 

_ Sungyoung: Dinner tonight?  _

Chanyeol stared at the message and realized that he had to tell Sungyoung about his case too. He knew she was going to worry, and they were going to argue again, but he didn’t want to get their hopes up and shut them down. There was nothing else for him to do but to tell her, especially if she was already on her way to his place. “I thought Mirae’s last name was Lee” Sunwoo suddenly asked him. 

“Hmm? He’s her adoptive brother. They were interned in the same place and they just stuck together” Chanyeol explained. “She’s been taking care of him, practically raising him ever since.” 

Jaehyun stepped out of his apartment and locked the door. He held up a big backpack as well. “I’m ready! Time to go!” He announced. They bid their goodbyes and went back to the elevator and down to the RV. 

Chanyeol waited for everyone to board the vehicle before getting on, partly making sure they were all together and complete. He was beginning to see what Hyuk meant by how much he missed them, and how he missed going on cases as four, or seven. It was his turn now to step out and do something on his own, and with different people helping him along the way. He began to drive away, passing by TRBL Music and the restaurant, for a sign of any of his family, as well as Hyuk and Jaehwan. He figured he’d tell the rest of them later, maybe on his way to their first stop.


	2. The Bae Mansion

Chanyeol parked the van upon arriving at the building he now lived in that night. All of them quietly got down, lugging their bags with them and followed him to the lobby. The time it took for them to arrive really reminded the fire-bender of how far away he was from the rest of his friends now. While he reminded himself that changes like this would inevitably happen, he still felt a kind of separation anxiety, knowing that he won’t be able to meet them as easily as before. He had naturally grown closer to them ever since meeting again all those years ago to take down the Utopian cult, and he regarded them as his family away from family. 

He looked back at the younger boys, who still seemed eager and cheerful despite quietly following him in the elevator and up to his floor. “Can anyone of you drive?” He asked them, somewhat breaking the silence as they approached his door. 

“I can” Jaehyun said. “I’ve got a license and everything. Recently, I was now licensed to pilot the jet like Junmyeon hyung and Kevin” He added, looking proud. 

“Hyung, you barely passed the test” Sunwoo pointed out with a grin, while Eric laughed out loud. 

“Even so! I still got a pilot license!” The elder pointed out. 

Chanyeol was impressed and nodded as he entered the passcode and opened the door. The smell of food immediately hit them as they quietly made their way inside, neatly putting each of their shoes away. “I’m home and I’ve got company!” He announced, having heard the sound of shuffling feet as they pressed on.

Sungyoung suddenly appeared in the hallway, wearing an apron around her waist and her hair tied in a bun. She was holding a spatula in one hand and a large pair of chopsticks in the other. She looked surprised to see the four boys behind him. “Hey, welcome home” She greeted her boyfriend with a soft peck on the lips and turned to the four. 

“Guys, this is Park Sungyoung, my girlfriend” Chanyeol introduced her to them. “Sungyoung, these are my…” He paused for a moment. “Colleagues, from Summerland. Lee Jaehyun, Kim Sunwoo, Eric Sohn, and his cousin Lee Jeno” He revealed, knowing that he was better off telling her the truth even if he knew he’d have her worrying all over again. 

He sensed the slight stiffness in her smile now, as the boys greeted her back. “It’s nice to meet you” Sunwoo spoke. 

“It’s very nice to meet all of you,” Sungyoung smiled wider. “Have you all eaten? It’s a good thing I prepared a lot tonight. Please, make yourselves comfortable while I set the rest of the table” She gestured them to walk on. She turned to Chanyeol and mouthed “We’ll talk later” and he nodded, knowing what would come next. 

“It’s a very nice place you have here, hyung” Jaehyun said, as Eric and Sunwoo already settled themselves down on the couch and the chairs, putting their bags down. Jeno was still wary, and carefully settled himself on the corner of the room, next to the window. 

“Thanks. It’s not much, but it’ll do for me for a while” Chanyeol nodded. “Settle yourselves down, we’ll eat and get some sleep. We’re leaving in the morning” He said, and they cheered quietly. 

But Sungyoung had overheard what he said, and she put down the bowls of rice sprinkled with dried laver on top on the table next to the big bowls of kimchi stew. “Leaving?” She asked. 

The fire-bender turned to her and nodded. “Should we talk now?” He asked. 

“I-I guess” She said, and they sensed that she was taken by surprise at his question. 

Chanyeol glanced at the boys and gestured for them to go help themselves to the food. “Go ahead and eat, we’ll catch up” He said. He turned to Sungyoung and led her towards his bedroom, closing the door behind them once they were both inside. “I got a case, about fires, I can’t not solve this.” 

Sungyoung exhaled sharply. “They’re mutants too?” She asked. 

“Yes” He replied. 

“You do know whatever you might face out there could be dangerous.” 

“I know. I also know what you’re thinking, that maybe I should never accept that case, that maybe I shouldn’t be in the agency at all, but I’ve been telling you so many times already that I have to do this” Chanyeol explained. He was beginning to get tired of explaining this side of his life to her. 

Sungyoung nodded. “It’s good that you know what I’m thinking,” She went up to him and held his hands. “Look, the only other reason why I’m like this to you is because...maybe it’s for the best that you leave all the saving to the rest of your friends? You belong here, where everyone else is, with me,” She said quietly. “You belong in a normal-” 

Chanyeol pulled away. “Normal? Is that what you think I should be? Powerless? Normal?” There was a hint of frustration in his voice. “Is that what you think I should become instead?” Sungyoung said nothing. “If you really loved me, wouldn’t you at least have accepted that by now? Wouldn’t we be talking about something else by now other than having to hear you worry about me leaving for a case or mission again?” 

“I do love you!” Sungyoung argued. 

“But?” 

“But what?” Sungyoung asked. 

“There’s a ‘but’ after what you just said,” Chanyeol said. “There’s going to be a ‘but’ to that, you love me but you can’t accept that this is what I do on the side.” He said. “If you can’t accept that, if you can’t accept that this is also the life I’m living, not because I have to live it, but because I also choose to live it, maybe we should… end things.” 

He felt his heart skip a beat at his own suggestion. He loved Sungyoung very much, but the constant arguing over his double life was beginning to wear him out. They had argued on more than one occasion, yet he never found it to tell Hyuk, Jaehwan, and Mirae about it. His family accepted and supported him, why couldn’t she? He noticed tears begin to well up on her eyes. “Chanyeol, I-” 

“I’ve had enough, Sungyoung” He said, sounding pained and tired. “I’ve had enough of you constantly trying to turn me into something I know I can’t be. You want me to be a normal human when I’m not. You’d have to kill me if you want me to… not have powers.” 

“Chanyeol-” More tears were falling down her face. 

He shook his head. “I love you, and I accepted you as you are, why couldn’t you do the same for me?” 

“I do love you! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I don’t want things to end between us!” Sungyoung approached him, holding his hands again. 

“Then accept me as I am” Chanyeol said simply. His heart was breaking at the sight of the woman he loved in tears. “My family has accepted me, accepted this part of my life, even when they nearly got killed by the mob, why couldn’t you?” 

Sungyoung looked lost for words. She held his hands tightly, but she could feel him pull away. “Chanyeol… are we really over?” She asked. 

“It’s up to you” He said. “But you can’t tell me not to go on this case. Maybe we need to go on a break and think about where we’re headed...When I get back and you still feel the same, then,” He sighed, looking down. “It’s goodbye.” 

She wiped her tears with her sleeve. “If… that’s what’s best for us, then so be it” and Chanyeol pulled her into a hug. 

~ 

The four boys looked back at the room while they ate their dinner. Even though they sensed what was going on inside the bedroom, they knew not to talk about it. It was something they felt only Chanyeol should acknowledge, and would only tell them if he was comfortable enough to do it. “So…” Jeno suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. “I packed everything I owned for this road trip, what do you think we’ll deal with out there?” He asked. 

“We don’t know, but I bet it’s something dangerous” Eric replied with a shrug. “What if we end up going to the sea? Or what if it’s up a snowy mountain or something?” He pondered on the question even more. 

“If that was the case, then good thing I brought a coat with me” Sunwoo said, glancing over at his bag. “And a good supply of juice packs. I should put them in the refrigerator later so it’s cold when we leave tomorrow.” 

“You think Chanyeol hyung would tell us about the Seoul attack?” Eric asked. 

“Seoul attack? You mean he was part of it?” Jeno asked, his mouth full of rice. They nodded. “Really?” They nodded again. 

“He was part of the group that saved the city, and a few other occasions after that, yeah” Jaehyun pointed out. The younger boy looked amazed. “We never really said it, but they’ve changed our lives for the better.” 

“If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t know where to go as mutants” Sunwoo added. “Kevin hyung and Jacob hyung wouldn’t be with us...including Eric” He said, with slight hesitation, while Eric simply grinned. 

“Can you imagine? We’d all never have met” Jaehyun chuckled. “We might’ve run into each other, but we wouldn’t have met or become friends” He tucked into his bowl of soup, then noticed their expressions. “What? Don’t act like you’ve never seen me be sentimental” He pointed out, making the two younger boys snicker. 

“Ah, I’ve wanted to ask,” Eric put down his now-empty bowl of rice and turned to his cousin. “When did your powers come?” He said. 

Jeno paused eating at the question, then shrugged. “I don’t know, but it happened many years ago, when I was a kid,” He began to recall. “I was allergic to cats at first, but then I started noticing how cats kept coming to me. I thought it was because I liked cats, but then one day, a few years later, on my way to school, I noticed I was growing whiskers…” He said. “And then I was growing fur, until I saw myself in the mirror. I became a cat…I was so shocked, but I eventually grew into my ability.” 

“Do they know? That you’re a mutant, I mean?” Eric asked, this time he sounded careful. 

Jeno shook his head. “I never told them, but it felt like I was leading a double-life, you know how Batman has a secret identity? That kind of thing” He explained. “Do… your parents know about your powers?” He turned to the speedster, and to the other boys. 

Jaehyun nodded. “They did. Well, it was impossible for them not to know given how it first came to me” He said quietly. Noticing the expressions of the younger boys, it prompted him to explain further. “It was in my first year of high school, one day, during lunch break, my eyes were itchy, and they were feeling sore for some reason,” He said. 

Sunwoo, Eric, and Jeno paused eating to listen to him. All this time, while they were all living under the same roof, they realized that they had never really told each other about how their powers manifested within them for the very first time. While they knew how Sangyeon and Kevin’s mutation came about, they had only learned about how most of them got their powers later on. 

“I rushed to the bathroom, not knowing what was happening. I washed my face, and I looked in the mirror to see if it was red, and I saw that my eyes were glowing, and the more I saw it, the more it started to hurt. I shut my eyes tight and went into a cubicle,” Jaehyun stared at his food upon remembering. “The more irritating my eyes got, the more I kept my eyes closed, until all of a sudden, I opened them and boom!” He gestured to the air. “I realized I was seeing red, and I was destroying the bathroom ceiling. I was seeing red ever since, and I mean it literally.” 

They nodded. “Were you angry or scared when it happened?” they suddenly heard Chanyeol, who had already come out of the bedroom. Sungyoung followed behind, already dressed to leave and placing the apron on top of the kitchen counter. She didn’t bother greeting them and instead went on her way out of the apartment. 

The four boys seemed taken by surprise, but Jaehyun was quick to answer. “I was scared. I felt like my eyes were about to pop out of my head! That was how my parents decided I should drop out if I was going to cause everyone harm. I lived like a blind person for months until Ino hyung came. For a moment, he made me see because he could somehow control my powers for me. He said to my parents that if I come to Summerland, I could learn everything I need, so I can go to a good university, live a good life, be able to control my powers, everything. My parents agreed as they didn’t know what else to do, and the rest is history.” 

“Now you know how to control your powers” Chanyeol nodded, sitting down on the other vacant chair to tuck into the remainder of the meal. “Sungyoung and I, we decided to go on a break” He revealed. 

“A break?” They exchanged looks. “You mean like a small vacation?” Sunwoo asked. 

The fire-bender shook his head. “Not that kind of break, but a break from our relationship,” He looked down for a moment. “We’ve been arguing a lot, a lot than most couples, we still are arguing a lot, especially when it comes to what I do…” 

“But you work at the restaurant” Eric said. 

“You know what I mean,” Chanyeol pointed out. “She’s very worrisome, and she’s finding it hard, she’s still finding it hard to accept that I have to be an investigator, that I have to do what I do” He sighed. 

“Maybe she’s gone through something traumatic before” Sunwoo tried to reason. “That’s the only reason why she’d act that way.” 

“But for years? Ever since I kept assuring her each time, ever since I would come back from our missions alive and well?” Chanyeol pointed out. “I could never fully convince her, and whenever it crossed my mind to ask her, she wouldn’t tell me about it either.” 

They nodded in understanding. “Then it was probably for the best?” Jaehyun shrugged. 

“Yeah, I told her that if she still feels the same way about this when we get back, then it would be over between us” Chanyeol explained. “If she’s finally accepted it, then maybe we can make it work again… I don’t get it, my family has accepted this part of my life, why couldn’t she?” He frowned in thought. 

“Hyung, you might be asking the wrong people” Jaehyun said, trying to lighten the mood. None of them had any experience in that area. “But maybe knowing that your family has accepted this and she couldn’t is saying something.” 

“Yeah…” Eric muttered. 

The fire-bender nodded and continued eating. He loved Sungyoung, and he didn’t want to lose her, but the fact that she couldn’t accept that he would risk his life every now and then to save a lot of people through his mutant abilities was making their relationship falter. He sighed again and ate a big spoonful of rice. He was going to miss her cooking. “So, anyway, about the case” He changed the subject. “It’s about some fires that happened… I don’t know who is sending us on this case, I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that there’s something about those fires…” 

“Like… murders?” Eric said carefully. 

Chanyeol nodded. “Murders, and freak accidents. I was scanning the file before picking you guys up, and I have an idea I know where we’re going to find out the answers. Accidents in a theater, a circus, a seaside hotel, a house by the sea, a reptile sanctuary, a private school…” He trailed off while eating. 

The four boys looked fascinated. “Wow, and we’re going to all those?” Sunwoo asked, his eyes wide. 

“We have to if we want to get to the bottom of those fires, don’t we?” Chanyeol pointed out, and they finished their food in excitement. 

~ 

The five of them were huddled over the coffee table in the living room later that night. Chanyeol had spread out all the files and the photos attached to each piece of paper that had some information. He kept on reading the letter while Eric took down whatever he could figure out on pieces of paper. They more they looked at the information, the more they realized that there was nothing much, except a brief description of the place. 

“The one who wrote the letter said them and their friends were part of an organization, and while some of those friends of theirs may still be alive, most of their enemies are in hiding” Chanyeol sat back and sighed, his brows furrowing as he tried to understand the letter. 

“Hey,” Eric suddenly spoke. He lined up all the photos together. “These photos are all different but there is something all of them have in common,” He held up a photo of a man holding a boa constrictor. “They all have something, it’s all in their pockets, a device or something” He said, pointing to what was sticking out of the pocket of the man’s vest. 

They looked closer, and then at the rest of the photos. “There’s also an insignia too. It’s an eye,” Jaehyun muttered. “Or at least it looks like an eye. Oh I’m getting chills!” He exclaimed at the realization. 

“So, their organization has a symbol of an eye” Jeno looked through the rest of the photos. “These people lived in these places, I guess, maybe there’s still something in the ruins. Whoever set the fires must have taken things but there might be something left…” He shrugged. 

“We can only hope they left at least one thing” Sunwoo nodded. “The first place we have to go to is the Bae mansion,” He looked at a photo of a large estate that was now in ruins, the walls scorched and the gates already blackened but the name of its former inhabitants seemed to still be visible amongst the ash. “Up in the more rural areas, I see… we’ll end up in the middle of nowhere with the places we’re going to.” 

“Or in places we’ve never seen…” Jeno showed them a photo of the side of a mountain all covered in ice. “I don’t think there’s a place in Korea that’s this snowy, even in the winter…” He said. 

“Or that looks like this by the sea now…” Eric showed them the photo of a seaside hotel as well as a photo of a small seaside village with one particular house standing on what looked like a wooden foundation. “Do you think this goes past the border? What if it does? I know there’s progress in that area but... what if this is past the border?” He was surprised by the idea. 

“We’ll never know until we find out. Until then, at least we know where to go first” Chanyeol said. He checked the piece of paper that had the information of the mansion, and another photo of a house caught his eye. He looked at the other photo. Compared to the Bae mansion, the other house looked dark and dreary. It looked incredibly run-down, as if the owner had subjected it to neglect, especially looking at the garden that it had. Hardly any flowers grew but weeds, and small patches of grass here and there. The house was almost as big, but the aesthetic difference in appearance, even with the scorched exteriors of the Bae mansion, was very noticeable. 

The fire-bender took a closer look at the photo, hoping to see if there were any details of the house that he can see. “No address on this one, nothing” He said. 

Jaehyun looked at the photo the older boy was holding and checked the papers, taking one out. “That must be this address… at least that’s what I can tell” He said. He noticed the surrounding houses it was in. It was the lone black home in the midst of more pleasant, colorful townhouses. “House number 34, Butterfly street” He made out the words on the signpost in the corner of the photo. “Butterfly street? Now I really do have a feeling this is somewhere far away.” 

“You don’t know that” Eric pointed out, shaking his head as he looked through the other photos. “But it does make me think of how far away we’ll be.” 

“I’m used to being far away” Jeno muttered, sitting back. “What do you think the eye symbol means?” 

Chanyeol shrugged. “I’m just as clueless as you are. Where could the Bae Mansion be? It only said it’s up in the mountains, but…” He looked back at the photo of the burned down home. “I guess we’ll just know when we get there, huh?” He reached for his phone on the side table and looked up the address. To his surprise, there was no such address on the search results. He figured it was possible on the office computer instead. 

It was then he noticed that the rest of them were on their phones as well, looking up the addresses and reacting the same way as he did. They all looked at each other knowingly. “Unless Kevin built the RV to fly, I don’t know if we’ll be able to reach where we’re going” Jaehyun said. 

“What if this was just a prank?” Sunwoo asked, staring at the photos. “What if this was just some party game or something that got lost?” He added. “If the addresses don’t come up on any search result whatsoever, then wouldn’t that mean a prank?” 

The speedster suddenly shook his head. “Well you don’t know that, neither of us knows that. Ino hyung seemed to be confident in what we’re doing though, I don’t think he’d let us leave if he knew it was a prank or something, right?” 

Chanyeol smiled softly. “Unfortunately, Ino hyung has a habit of letting everyone be sometimes to the extent that he tends to do nothing whenever someone is in danger. Understandable since he’s got his own powers to worry about, and the future of mutantkind is in his hands, he can’t watch over us as well as he’d want to…” He said knowingly. He was reminded of how Ino was going through some changes in his powers, seeing an increase in abilities that meant he needed time to learn what it was and how he could control it. As Kevin told him, Ino was a prime example of an omega-level mutant, and as Jaehyun pointed out, the closest thing to a god. 

It made the four younger boys look up at him in curiosity. “What do you mean? You mean Ino hyung might just do nothing to help?” Sunwoo asked. 

The fire-bender nodded slightly. “Yeah. He’s done that to us a number of times already, so I don’t think you should rely on him all the time to help. But consider this a challenge,” He advised them. “Consider this is another try in learning how to use your powers in battle, and break a mental sweat at the same time” He added. Now he really knew how Hyuk felt when he asked Haknyeon, Hyunjoon, and Jacob’s help in the Ose cult. He felt a little helpless and unsure of what to do now that it seemed like he was in charge. It made him face the same realization that he was so used to being with Hyuk, Jaehwan, and Mirae, so used to being with people that had the same experiences as him that he had forgotten what it was like when he first started out, and on his first few missions before the Seoul attack. 

Counting it, Chanyeol realized that it had been approaching a decade long since that day he went into the Center of Paranormal Research. It was already a long time. “Then, challenge accepted, right?” Jeno suddenly said. “I don’t know how things worked with the rest of you but, this is a challenge we can do... “ He seemed uncertain of what he was saying but he tried to seem assuring. 

“Yeah, challenge accepted. We can do this on our own, if the rest of you have been able to, then there’s no doubt we can do it too” Eric agreed, giving his cousin a thumbs up. 

The fire-bender just smiled, also feeling assured by the younger boys’ words. “We’ll all be sticking together for a while, when we get back, at least you’ve got a story to tell everyone” He said. 

“Don’t start sounding like you’re going away after that, hyung,” Jaehyun nudged him. 

Chanyeol laughed. “I was referring to Sunwoo, Eric, and Jeno” He pointed out. He got up. “We should all get some sleep for now. We’ve got one big road trip in the morning, alright?” And the four younger boys nodded. 

~ 

The five of them were on the road the next day, with some doubts still hanging on whether or not they really had a place to go to as no searches also came up from the database in the RV. The farther they went, the more Chanyeol began to feel nervous. He turned the corner, in the hopes of going to the general location of the Bae mansion, he noticed a thick fog up ahead. He slowed down to a stop. “The fog seems strange” He said. 

“Strange? It’s just a fog?” Sunwoo looked out the window. 

“What’s strange is that there’s a clear border, like it’s really separated from where we are” Chanyeol pointed out, looking at the sky above them. It was clear, and the fog didn’t seem to move beyond where it was. 

“Maybe a car overheated or something” Eric suggested. 

“No, no cars overheat this bad, and even then, the smoke wouldn’t be so big unless it was a truck, but there aren’t any trucks… or giant, giant, trucks” Chanyeol said. He took a deep breath. “We’ll have to go in anyway” He stepped on the gas again and went on driving. They entered the fog, that seemed to keep going for a while and they knew no feature on the RV could clear this up for them unless Jongdae or Sehun were present. 

“At least we know we’re still on the ground” Jaehyun pointed out, also fixated on the fog that surrounded them. He sat back in the passenger’s seat. 

“At least we also know we haven’t gone up the mountain yet either” Sunwoo said. 

They began to notice the fog decreasing the more Chanyeol drove, and the smoke cleared more and more, and before them, they realized they were driving along a dark and dreary riverbank. The land on the shore seemed to have dried up, and the sky remained just as cloudy. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing. “Are we still in Korea? Our end of Korea?” Jaehyun muttered, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end at the realization. 

“I don’t think the North would look like this… I don’t think the North would have anything looking like this at all…” Jeno said, feeling a chill down his spine. 

Sunwoo rubbed his arms when he felt goosebumps sinking in. He was getting scared. “Wh-what do we do now? Are we on the right way to the Bae mansion or something?” He said. 

“I don’t know either, but I guess we keep driving until we find the answer, right?” Chanyeol said, looking just as uneasy as the rest of them. Jaehyun, Jeno, and Eric went to looking back at the file and at the pictures. They were trying to check if there were any details in the photos that would lead them to where they needed to be. There was none. 

“Look! I see some kind of tracks!” Eric suddenly spotted out the window. The side of the road that was beside the riverbank Chanyeol was driving on had a long line embedded into the asphalt. “Is it like those cable cars on land? I think it is…” He said. 

“Then we’ll have to check it out” Chanyeol said. He pulled the brakes and got down, the four boys following and getting out as well. Eric darted back into the van to get the folder and their bags. The air was cold, somewhat humid where they stood, and the river they were walking along seemed to have no end, only clusters of grey clouds hovered over the horizon. The five of them went up to the road, noticing the metal line embedded into the ground, forming narrow tracks. “It is like those cable cars on land... “ 

They suddenly heard a bell toll from a distance. It was what they expected, a red and yellow-painted cable car, and it was being operated by someone dressed in a red and gold uniform, with another person standing next to them in uniform, serving as conductor. Jaehyun and Chanyeol backed away when it was coming closer, and it slowed down to a halt in front of them. It was then they noticed the sign, written in Hangul. The B Railways. “Are you getting on?” The conductor spoke. 

The five of them exchanged looks. “We might as well, we’ve already got our bags with us” Jaehyun muttered. 

“Let’s go, yes, yes we are” Chanyeol gestured for them to board the car first, getting on afterwards. The only other people who were present was an old woman wearing a pink skirt and blazer and brown shoes. She was eating candy out of a box. 

They sat themselves down and the car began to move again. “So, where are you all headed?” The conductor asked them. “You don’t look like you’re from around here, at least in these parts” They added. 

“We’re backpackers,” Chanyeol replied. “But I’d like to know if we’ll be passing by some ruins? Like the Bae Mansion?” He asked. 

The conductor’s expression fell. “Mr. and Mrs. Bae, God bless their souls and their children’s souls” They muttered. “Well, it is on the way. Sit back and relax.” 

The conductor walked back to their spot, and the five of them exchanged looks again. They didn’t want to say anything in case anyone would overhear them or take what they’re doing the wrong way. They didn’t even want to ask where they were. All they knew was that they were in some part of the country they had never seen before, but it felt like they had entered another dimension, another space aside from the astral plane. 

They were soon entering what looked like a city that definitely looked like a place frozen in time from how the buildings looked as well as the streets and cars that were parked against the curb. But there were neon lights in Hangul fixed on some buildings. Chanyeol figured that this must be what the country should’ve looked like if not for the war decades ago. 

Jaehyun, Sunwoo, Jeno, and Eric were still in awe of what they were looking at. The people they saw seemed to be wearing normal clothes, some looking like they were from a different time more than others. Sunwoo took out a juice pack from his bag and began to drink. His mouth was getting dry from taking in everything around them. “So this is where we’ll be” He muttered. 

“Looks like it” Jaehyun said, and he sat up upon noticing what was ahead. The car was slowing down to a stop, in front of a burned down estate. He knew what it was. They had now arrived. 

“The Bae mansion” The conductor announced, and the five of them got off, still looking around the place in wonder. “I hope you find what you’re looking for” The conductor added. “Fight the fire” They whispered, and the cable car took off again. 

_ Fight the fire _ . The words made Chanyeol stare at the conductor, who seemed to be back on their business as the car was moving away. “If the mansion is up in the mountains, then we must be up here” Sunwoo said. 

“Then it didn’t take us very long to go up that mountain, did it?” Jeno said. They were still trying to wrap their heads around the fact that they were in this kind of place. It seemed almost impossible to have a place like this exist, and in the mountains, if they really were in the mountains. He faced the ruins of the estate. “We might as well go in and have a look around” He added and they agreed. 

They ripped off the tape and went inside, carefully watching their steps the more they were inside, so as to be careful not to destroy anything that might be already fragile from the fire. Only the main foundations seemed to remain, and some of the walls had already come apart from the looks of it. But everything gave them an idea of what it used to look like before it was destroyed by the fire. “It’s a shame that a house like this got burned down, it must’ve been nice to live here” Eric said, picking up an ash-covered telephone that came apart. 

“Someone’s going to get into trouble for burning down a house like this… and the people inside it, if the fire was intentional” Chanyeol said, making a beeline into what used to be the library. 

“Burned books, burned furniture, burned people, nice” Eric cringed, and stopped in front of the foyer that led to the staircase. He looked up at the sky, sensing that there was something about the way the stairs was designed. He glanced at his cousin, who seemed to be feeling the same way upon seeing the stairs. 

“I’ll take a look” Jeno said, and transformed into a cat again, slinking out from under the backpack. He hopped up on every stair until he reached the top. 

“Did you see anything interesting?” Eric called out, spotting the cat peek out onto the bannister at the top. The cat turned back into Jeno again, and he nodded. 

“Yeah! Get up here!” He said, and in a flash, Eric was with him. Jeno moved to the side, and so did Eric. The two of them gaped at what they saw from above. The stairs and the floor they were standing on seemed to take the shape of an eye. A chill went up the speedster’s spine at what they found, and the two of them dashed back to the ground floor. 

“Wasn’t the symbol an eye?” Eric said. 

“Yeah” Jeno nodded. “So the Baes are part of whatever organization it was?” 

The speedster nodded. “But everyone included in the file is… let’s check it again” He said, and took the folder from his bag, the two of them going into a corner to take another look at the information and at the photos.

Meanwhile, Jaehyun went into what looked like the dining room. There was only half of what he figured was a very long table, and the giant scorch mark seemed to indicate that this was the room where the fire began. All the silverware in the cabinets were now exposed and covered in ashes, the portraits that used to hang on the walls were now also badly burned and covered in ash, heavily obscuring the faces of the family that used to live there. He figured that those people in the photos he had were also the couple that owned the estate. 

He noticed the open drawers in the corner and approached it. Jaehyun saw that it had been emptied out, leaving only a torn corner of a page. He picked it up and took a closer look. “At least we know this is what’s left of whatever was taken inside” He muttered to himself and left the room. 

Sunwoo went through the burned walls and into what looked like the lounge. He immediately saw a big scorch mark by what was once a giant glass window. The mark nearly bore a hole into the floor that he saw was hardwood covered with what was once an expensive carpet, possibly imported from overseas. He tried to stay calm, fear suddenly seeping into him at the sight of everything that was burned down, almost to a crisp. He saw the burned down table that was used to hold crystal glasses that have now been shattered, along with a crystal bottle that must have been holding expensive liquor. 

It made him so curious what the house used to be like, before it was set on fire and killing everyone that lived in it. As Sunwoo passed by the other tables, he noticed a glint of gold coming from the chest of drawers on the other end of the room. He approached it and saw a gold spyglass. It was the only thing left intact compared to the rest of the room and the house. Sunwoo picked up the spyglass to take a closer look, and to his surprise, the shape of the cover was that of an eye as well. A chill ran down his spine and the object fell through his hands and to the floor. He frowned in frustration of himself and picked it up again, running out of the room. 

Chanyeol looked through the covers of the burned books as he passed by each shelf. It was a giant library, and he figured it was probably the biggest room in the mansion. There were shelves upon shelves of books about all kinds of subjects, from automobiles to physics to the origins of the kinds of food. 

As he passed through some more burned through shelves, he noticed one large space in one of them. One level of the shelf he was in front of was completely emptied out, as only the shelf seemed to be burned at that part. He had a strong feeling that it was emptied out before the fire began, and it was making him wonder what it was. While the most obvious guess was that of books, he also thought of the possibility of it being anything but books. It made him think of the one photo in the file. The photo of a white lace pouch. The Bae mansion was probably where the lace pouch was from, or at least was kept.

He bent down and looked at the empty spot. He had a very strong feeling that there was more to this particular part of the shelf. Chanyeol felt around the sides and at the back of the shelf. To his surprise, the back board slid down and a gold object slid towards him. It was a spyglass, and was a little burned around the edges. The fire-bender caught the spyglass and noticed the cover that was shaped like an eye. Taking a closer look, he saw, slightly engraved onto the base of the object: 

Victoria Bae 

The name brought on more questions. Who was Victoria Bae? Was she the Mrs. Bae? Was she one of the children? He didn’t know. 

Chanyeol got back up and took the spyglass, hearing a rustling coming from the four younger boys out in the main hall. “So, did any of you find anything?” He asked them, upon seeing them huddled over the folder that Eric had opened. 

Sunwoo turned around and held up a spyglass, gaping when he saw that the older boy was holding up a spyglass as well. “There are two spyglasses?” He said. 

“Yeah, this belonged to a Victoria Bae” Chanyeol replied with a nod. “Whose is that?” He gestured to the spyglass he was holding. 

Sunwoo shrugged and took a closer look. He stopped when he also noticed a lightly engraved name on the base of the object. “Vernon Bae” He read the name. “Eric, didn’t the conductor say that Mr. and Mrs. Bae had children too? We don’t even know their first names” He added. 

“What about the rest of you, were you able to find something else like this?” Chanyeol asked. 

Jaehyun nodded and held up the piece of paper he was holding. “It’s definitely a page from something. It seems like when this fire came, or before the house was set on fire, someone took stuff from the drawer in the dining room and left this behind.” 

“That would’ve burned if the house was just set on fire, it must’ve been after” Jeno deduced. “If someone did cause this fire, then there are a few possibilities; Either the family, or at least some of the Baes survived and managed to escape, or the person responsible went here to take something after this was done…” He explained. 

Eric beamed at his cousin. “I agree!” He said. 

“Then how did they manage to survive?” Chanyeol looked around them. “If they did survive the fire, that is…” 

“Oh yeah! Jeno and I found something on the stairs” The speedster suddenly said, making the elder turn around. “The Bae family seem to be members of this whole secret club, because even the staircase was designed to look like an eye from the very top” He pointed to the staircase. 

“Oh! I’m getting chills!” Sunwoo rubbed his arms at the realization. 

~ 

A black town car slowly pulled up in front of the remains of the Bae mansion. The window behind the driver’s seat rolled down slightly and the person behind it; a suited boy wearing thin, round-framed glasses spotted the group of people inside. The windows rolled back up. “I sense he’s been here.” 

“Who, sir?” The chauffeur asked. 

“An old friend” The boy replied. He looked back at the group inside the Bae mansion again and closed his eyes. He could hear their thoughts. _ Victoria Bae, Vernon Bae, the lace pouch, the spyglasses. _ He opened his eyes. “Bring me home” He said to the chauffeur, and they were on their way. 

The chauffeur drove further on, into the more cosmopolitan areas of the town. As he arrived in front of the lobby of a residential skyscraper. “I will call for you later tonight” He said to the driver, who nodded and drove off into the parking lot of the building. The boy gave nods towards those who greeted him and he went into the executive elevator in the more hidden parts of the building. He felt uneasy, yet determined to find whoever it was he was looking for. An old friend turned into an old enemy. Arriving at the top floor, the elevator doors opened into his penthouse apartment. 

“Ah, Mark, back so soon?” A boy with very blond hair and a black suit was standing behind the mini-bar by the living room. He was making himself a martini, dropping in an olive. 

“Baekhyun hyung” He replied, taking his blazer off and throwing it on the nearby chair. The elder boy with the name poured the rest of the contents of the shaker into another glass, handing it over to him to drink. “He hasn’t been to the Bae mansion, I checked” He explained, taking a sip. 

“And what else? I have a feeling there is more to your explanation” Baekhyun said in between sips. 

Mark paused drinking. “Someone you know is here. I assume you’ve known him for a long time, since the Seoul attack.” 

Baekhyun stared at the younger boy. “Who is it?” 

“He plays with fire, he turns into fire” Mark replied. “He’s not alone. He’s with a few other people.” 

The elder’s expression seemed to stiffen. He knew who Mark was referring to. “Chanyeol. It’s been a while.” 


End file.
